I'm looking for a product to put on decks after I wash them that will preserve them or keep them looking new and that I can put on wet.

I've looked at softwash systems wood restore and it looks good to me has anyone else found another product or had an experience with wood restore? Also where could I find some instruction for softwashing wood better? Sorry for the questions I just couldn't find anything when I searched. Thanks guys!

I have a Cedar deck at my house with Armstrong Clark Semi stain on it. Every two years I give it a Bleach wash to clean the stain off and hit it with brightener. Comes out like new every time. Armstrong Clark is my stain of choice.

Something to understand, translucent stain will not hold up as long as solid and semi solid in between. The higher the solids the better protection

So true! I found Rymar Stain from the manager at Shewaim-Williams who I have know for at least 15 years and never has he let me down. He was doing what Art has to do and decided to try Rymar on his deck and made it five years. Pigment is the the key! Even the Rymar rep I spoke to tries to keep people from buying their clear finish.

Your best bet is to offer two options. Either clean the deck - just to remove dirts and mold. Clean and move on. or offer wood restoration which is staining with the idea of developing a yearly or bi-yearly maintenance program. There are so many variables in softwashing wood that you really cant always get the guaranteed perfect results that a homeowner may expect. We make much more money softwashing than staining decks so we push homeowners to use a professional deck person if they a want the restoration. We sometimes use wood restore. I don't know exactly the long term benefits but it looks pinkish when applied until it dries. I tell homeowner it rehydrates and neutralizes any SH residue. I don't say anything about the cosmetic appearance. I figure it can't hurt. Homeowners also have the idea that they need to do something at the end of a deck wash but they don't know what. When I finish with the wood restore it helps with their comfort level

If you decide to stain paint or preservative I'd recommend spraying spindles (back brush) and I use an 18 inch roller and back brush the deck with a 6 inch brush on a pole. Just keep a wet edge or you'll get lap marks.